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John Handy - Jazz

Mar 21, 2019

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John Handy
Have you ever heard of John Handy? Probably not around here, but he
is a well known person in San Francisco. Handy has done such things as
taught jazz, played straight-ahead bebop, and led bands.
John Handy was born in 1933 in Dallas, Texas. Not much is known
about his childhood, until he moved to Oakland, California in 1948. After that
he enrolled in San Francisco State College in 1952. Soon after being in
college, he had to serve in the army from 1953 to 1955. Following the army,
Handy moved to New York in 1958. Not knowing while going gig-hunting,
John ran into the great bassist, Charles Mingus. Charles asked, "Hey, baby,
you workin'?" Handy confessed that he didn't, and got a job with Mingus.
Handy was on a lot of records with Mingus over the next year.
When John left Mingus, he joined Randy Weston, the pianist. They
played in the summer of '59 at The Five Spot in New York. They also played
in an all-star band with Kenny Dorham, Gigi Gryce, Wayne Shorter, and Hank
Mobley. Later that year, Handy made his first album called In the
Vernacular. Handy took a well needed vacation to California in '62. Which
was supposed to be three-weeks, ended up being the rest of his life.
John Handy was stuck in the middle of the civil rights movement. John
was embraced since 1960 in New York, so in 1964 he began a tentet called the
Freedom Band. This group was made to raise money for organizations that
were involved in the fight against segregation. Handy ended up buying the
house, in which he lives in today. He had to buy the house, because nobody
would rent out a house to an interracial marriage.
In 1965 Handy commonly appeared at the Both/And Club. While John
was at the Both/And Club, director Jimmy Lyons promised him a spot at the
Monterey Jazz Festival. John Handy's big hit at the festival was "Spanish
Lady." The crowd loved it so much, they got out of their seats and cheered
wildly.
Handy met Ravi Shankar in 1964, who taught him the style of the music
in India. Later in '71, John started to play with Indian sarode master Ali Akbar
Khan. During that time they recorded two albums, along with one in India
with Ravi Shankar called Jazz Mine. Shankar made a composition that John
Handy, and about twenty-five musicians, played at the Bombay Jazz Festival
in 1980.
"Hard Work" was the name of his 1976 hit that contained genuine
rhythm and blues. Since then, John has recorded with groups such as Bebop
and Beyond and The Mingus Dynasty.

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